THE much-anticipated sequel is here. Brace up for the second Vios Cup, which roars off on May 16 and 17 in Cebu City, boasting of more participants and, of course, many unexpected thrills reserved for both car buffs and motorsports fans alike.
The first day of the races tomorrow is set for practice and basically test runs. The following day will be the real race for top honors, with the awarding ceremonies set in the evening.
So smashingly successful was the debut of the Vios Cup last year at Clark in Pampanga and McKinley Global City in Taguig that no less than Michinobu “The Rocker” Sugata, the president of Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) but who is now more known as the Father of the Vios Cup, will personally appear at the battlegrounds at SRP (South Road Property) for two straight days to witness all the drama (and trauma?) attendant to such a big car race such as the Vios voyage.
Jade B. Sison from TMP’s high-powered marketing/public-relations troika of Ariel Arias, Raymond Rodriguez and Sherwin ChuaLim had done so much brain-racking spade work and she was just, as usual, more than happy to share with me some salient points, again, about the Vios Cup.
From Jade’s treasure trove of materials for the event is the come-on that the races are for free, with the SRP gates opening at 10 a.m.
Jade’s advise to gearheads and “Fast & Furious” freaks: “Don’t miss the chance to witness the drift exhibition by Japanese Drift King Keiichi Tsuchiya with exclusive ‘shotgun rides’ for lucky guests during the event! Also performing after the race is DJ Mars Miranda.”
There will be 44 racers this year for an increase of six from last year’s participants. Cebu has four entries to mark Visayas’s debut in the event, which will again feature celebrities like Derek Ramsay, Jasmine Curtis, Kylie Padilla, DJ Sam YG, Jinno Rufino, Fabio Ide and Phoemela Baranda.
Among the Vios Cup supporters worth the mention include Bridgestone and Rota, Motul, TRD, Brembo, Super Shuttle Roro, Denso, AVT, OMP and Tuason Racing.
But Jade said that without the robust help of the Office of the Cebu City Mayor, SRP administration, Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom), Department of Public Works and Highways Cebu and Toyota Cebu-Mandaue South, Vios Cup 2 would not have been a success as envisioned.
Indeed, if we’d hear if from Jade, she would proudly say, “It’s been a project conceived by a brilliant few, but whose execution is the work of many equally brilliant minds that love to do a noble job when they see one.”
How can one join the Vios Cup again?
Buy a Vios, the country’s No. 1 selling car for many years now that will be redesigned solely for the race. Meaning, all cars in the race are uniformly built but even though they are principally geared for racing, they are also legal for public driving.
For a reasonable price of P1 million plus, you can be a car racer yourself and, who knows, you will someday see yourself driving in the Nascar races in America or in the country-hopping, ultimate race thrill that is the Formula One.
Wannabes can always go to a Toyota dealer and order a custom-made Vios exclusively for the Vios Cup.
All the stickers on the car and repainting are for free. You can even place your own stickers or designs on the car body, including your own picture and even your dog’s face or your idol’s, like Katy Perry or The Beatles maybe.
When you finally have your Vios race car, you will be given free support of tires for practice and racing, gear and brake oil, mechanic assistance, etc.
The most important thing is, you get professional racing school for two days from Tuason Racing, the country’s leader when it comes to racing education.
Meanwhile, excuse me while I pack my bags for the Queen City of the South.
Pee stop Already basking in the glory of his breakthrough babe, the Vios Cup, Michinobu “The Rocker” Sugata wants a car race involving rival car companies among Toyota, Mitsubishi, Honda, Nissan, Ford, Hyundai, Volkswagen, BWM, Chevy, Suzuki, Volvo and “whoever wants to join” to establish a “friendly competition for the benefit of everybody.”
I say, why not? It will not only generate consumer impact but will also enliven the motoring atmosphere, especially attracting both the young and the not-so-old to the thrilling realities of healthy racing competition among keen competitors in the auto business. Let’s all go for it!… Happy birthday to my beautiful kumadre, May Sison Uy! Cheers for beers!